A Mother's Present
by Peach the Hedgehog
Summary: Sabrina was given a gift when she was very young from her mother. What will happen when her father finds out that she has it? My entry in the Village Square Contest.


Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Harvest Moon series.

**AN: This is my entry for the contest, which is Family this time. I wasn't going to do this one, but I was recently inspired and decided to take this approach instead.**

Sabrina looked out the window of her room, gazing at the many beautiful stars and the half, crescent moon. The night itself seemed very peaceful, like most nights on Sunshine Islands have been.

With a sigh, the black haired girl reached her hand into a pocket and removed a beautiful pendant that was gold and had a blue gem attached to it. This was a keepsake from her mother, but her father didn't know that she had it. She loved to keep it around though, she thought about her mother often. It had been so long since she had seen her beautiful face.

She was only a little girl when her parents got divorced. Sabrina remembered that it had to do with the fact that her father, Regis, would think solely of his work, saying it was for the good of the company. Her mother had gotten fed up with him because of that.

_"For the company… for the company…"_

This was something her father would say a lot. He even said this before when he tried to arrange for her to married to someone she didn't even know. That memory was crystal clear, since it only happened a week ago.

In that way, she could understand why her father did such a foolish thing, forgetting about her own feelings. Sabrina had picked up a similar trait. Like they say 'like father, like daughter.' Sometimes, it was easy to forget the feelings of other people, and just become absorbed in one's work. She helped her father with the bookkeeping, and sometimes became so wrapped up in it; she had no time for anything else, at least, right then.

Sabrina looked at the pendant for a moment longer, and stuffed it back in her pocket afterwards. She couldn't explain why, but she didn't want her father to know that she had kept it. But, she couldn't understand why she felt that way.

Was it because she was afraid her father wouldn't accept it? Would he take it away from her? She just couldn't help thinking about such things.

"Maybe… I should get some sleep," she murmured softly to herself.

* * *

The morning sun shined brightly through the window of the mansion. Sabrina's eyes were downcast, to the papers that were in front of her. However, for some reason, she just couldn't seem to concentrate. She knew that her work was important for her father's company, but she just couldn't seem to get going.

Small tears formed out of the corners of her eyes. At first, she couldn't understand what could be upsetting her. But then she remembered her thoughts from the night before, something about her mother…

Looking up to make sure that her father couldn't see it, she took the pendant out of her pocket again. It was the only thing she had to remind her of her mother. And in truth, she missed her. She felt like a little girl right now.

"Sabrina?" questioned a familiar voice.

Sabrina gasped as she was caught off guard and looked up to see her father looking at her. He must have come to check on her progress, for the good of the company as usual. She wanted to move her hand that held the pendant. She didn't know why, but she still didn't want her father even seeing that she still had it after all this time. But she felt frozen, unable to move.

"Father…"

"Is something wrong?" Regis questioned, noticing the tears in her eyes. For once, he actually neglected asking how her work was coming along.

"Well, I…" she murmured, unsure of what to say. She still couldn't get her hand to move.

The man looked down and noticed the object in his daughter's hand. "What do you have there?" he asked as he came for a closer look. As soon as he saw the pendant up close, his eyes widened a little. "This is…"

Just as she thought he would, Regis took the pendant from her grasp. She wanted to stand up, to ask him to give it back to her. However, to her amazement, he did not place it in his own pocket and he didn't leave to put it where she could never find it. Instead, he studied it a bit, looking it over, as though he himself was actually lost.

"Father… I know that pendant belonged to mother… I've kept it since she moved far away from us," Sabrina said softly.

Regis broke his gaze from the pendant and eyed his daughter sitting behind the desk. "You've kept it all this time? And you never told me?"

"I was afraid you'd take it from me," she admitted softly, lowering her head. "It's very important to me. She gave it to me before she left so…"

When his daughter fell silent, Regis himself found himself looking back at her. Slowly, he shook his head, and took a seat opposite of her. "This pendant… it is not just important to you."

"What do you mean?" Sabrina asked softly.

"I was the one who gave your mother that pendant," Regis explained. "At that time, I didn't have to worry about the company as much as I do now. I wanted to show your mother how much I cared for her. So, I went out and used my money to buy it for her."

Sabrina gazed up at her father shocked, as he seemed to chuckle at the memory. "Your mother was surprised of course. But I wanted to show her how much I felt for her. I remember how she laughed and said I didn't have to go as far as I did, but she would happily accept it."

Suddenly, Regis sighed softly and set the pendant on the table, on top of the papers his daughter had been trying to work on. "As you know, a few years later, my business became a success and I focused on my work. And your mother was not happy with that. She wished I would spend more time with the both of you. However, I felt that I had to work hard to make sure the company continued to prosper. I did not realize I was pushing your mother away, until it was too late."

"Father…" Sabrina murmured surprised at what her father was saying.

"I've been thinking about it since our argument," he went on. "And I've decided that I'll not only do what it is good for the company, but also what is good for you. You are my only daughter, after all!"

Regis picked up the pendant again and stood up. He walked over to where Sabrina had been sitting, and placed the pendant around her neck, startling her. "This pendant has seemed to become something of an important keepsake to you. So I say you should continue to hold on to it."

Tears appeared in the girl's eyes again, only this time her tears were happy ones. She leapt up from her chair and wrapped her arms around her father. "Oh, thank you, father! This means so much to me!"

Regis at first was taken aback by his daughter's sudden embrace, but it didn't take him long to return the gesture. It had sure been a long time since he has spoken about her mother. But it was something he had needed to get off his chest.

Memories remain deep in the heart, leading to many emotions. And sometimes all it takes is something like a little pendant to bring them out once again.


End file.
